Liverpool’s high street thriving, according to new figures

Liverpool BID Company has revealed footfall figures that show the city centre’s high street continues to thrive and buck the national trend.

Despite reports of a downturn nationally, Liverpool is on the up, reporting 12 consecutive months of footfall growth year-on-year, along with a 6.7% year-on-year increase in footfall this year so far (January-July), in key shopping areas within the Retail & Leisure BID.

Nationally, the high street has been in decline with figures country-wide showing a 2.7% drop so far this year, compared with Liverpool’s favourable results.

The increase in visitors is being driven by the diverse and booming retail and leisure offer in the city centre, such as the independent retailers on Bold Street, the national brands of Church Street, St Johns Shopping Centre, Clayton Square and Williamson Square, and the boutique shops at Metquarter.

The figures come ahead of exciting redevelopments such as the new flagship LUSH store coming to Church Street in the former Dorothy Perkins unit, and the ongoing transformation of Metquarter which will welcome new brands, including Kids Cavern, restaurants and the four-screen, boutique cinema by Everyman.

Liverpool BID Company chief executive Bill Addy said: “It is incredible to see Liverpool bucking the national trend and reporting such positive results.

“What is particularly encouraging is when you consider that these figures come during a period of real disruption for our retailers, and visitors, alike, including the closure of Lime Street station and various strike action affecting both our bus and train networks.

“It not only shows the resilient nature of our levy payers, but endorses the ongoing work that Liverpool BID Company does to attract as many people as possible to the city centre.”

The footfall figures mirror the success of St Johns Shopping Centre, which celebrates 50 years in 2019 and sits within the Retail & Leisure BID area.

Also bucking the national retail trend, sales were up at the centre for the first half of 2018.

As the UK high street struggles to cope with online competition, St Johns has seen an increase in every area of the business, outperforming regional and industry benchmarks.

Sales were up 3% year-on-year for the first five months of 2018, with May showing the strongest rise, with footfall up 1.5% for the year.

St Johns general manager, Neil Ashcroft, said the figures supported its aim to increase dwell time and customer-spend through improved signposting and brand awareness.

“They show our shoppers are staying longer, spending more, and we’re attracting a wider demographic of visitors to the centre,” he said.

“And it’s not a coincidence that, for the same period, our customer reviews on Google and TripAdvisor have also significantly gone up.

“Again, that demonstrates we’re succeeding by investing in customer experience and through our commitment to offering great service.”